Thermally insulating shipping system

ABSTRACT

An insulating shipping container includes an outer cardboard carton with a foldable top; an open-top, rigid, first thermally insulating housing formed of expanded polystyrene and removably disposed in the outer carton; a second open-top, thermally insulating housing formed of vacuum insulating panels and removably disposed in the first housing; an inner cardboard carton with a foldable top removably disposed in the second housing; and a closure structure including a vacuum insulating panel and expanded polystyrene panels for closing the open tops of the second and first housings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to thermally-insulated packaging and, moreparticularly, to packaging of the type which may be used for shipping ofmaterials, such as perishable materials, which must be maintained withina certain temperature range.

The shipping or transportation of various perishable materialsfrequently requires that such materials be maintained in a stabletemperature range, either higher or lower than ambient temperatures towhich the packaging of the materials will be exposed. Thus, there haveheretofore been provided a number of different types of thermallyinsulated containers. A reusable pallet shipper is sold by ISC, Inc.under the trademark “VAC-INTACT.” The insulation is provided by vacuuminsulation panels, each of which includes a vacuum core formed ofopen-cell polystyrene, and sandwiched between a rigid polyurethane sheetand a protective hard plastic sheet, the foregoing sandwich in turnbeing sandwiched between a pair of corrugated outer layers, thecomponents all being adhered together. While this arrangement providesvery good thermal insulation, it has the disadvantage that, in the eventthat the vacuum core should be damaged, destroying the vacuum therein,the entire panel assembly must be replaced, since it is of an integralconstruction.

Thermal Solutions, Inc. sells an insulated container of moldedconstruction, which includes vacuum insulation panels molded in place inthe container walls to better protect them from damage. This alsoprovides an effective thermal insulation, but is very expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a general object of the invention to provide an improved thermallyinsulating container which avoids the disadvantages of prior insulatedcontainers, while affording additional structural and operatingadvantages.

An important feature of the invention is the provision of a thermallyinsulating container which is of relatively simple and economicalconstruction.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of a container of thetype set forth which is formed of separable layers, so that if one ofthe layers is damaged only that layer need be replaced.

Certain ones of these and other features of the invention may beattained by providing a thermally insulating container comprising: anouter closable carton, a first insulating housing removably disposedwithin the outer carton and formed of a first thermally insulatingmaterial, a second insulating housing removably disposed within thefirst housing and formed of a second thermally insulating material, andan inner closable carton removably disposed within the second housing.

The invention consists of certain novel features and a combination ofparts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it beingunderstood that various changes in the details may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of thepresent invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the invention, thereis illustrated in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodimentthereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection withthe following description, the invention, its construction andoperation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood andappreciated.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container in accordance with thepresent invention in its closed condition;

FIG. 2 is a slightly reduced, exploded, perspective view of thecontainer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective, partially exploded view of the container ofFIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary view in vertical section takengenerally along the line 4—4 in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, there is illustrated a thermally insulatingcontainer, generally designated by the numeral 10, in accordance withthe present invention. The container 10 has a box-like configurationincluding a rectangular bottom wall 11 (see FIGS. 1 and 4), fourupstanding side walls 13 and a top wall 15. While, for purposes ofillustration, the container 10 is illustrated as having the shape of arectangular parallelepiped, it will be appreciated that it could haveother shapes. It is a significant aspect of the invention, that thecontainer 10 is made up of a plurality of discrete, removably nestedunits, including an outer carton 20, a first insulating housing 30, asecond insulating housing 40, an inner carton 50 and a closure lid 60.

Referring in particular to FIGS. 2 and 3, the outer carton 20 ispreferably formed of a corrugated cardboard material or the like, andincludes a bottom panel 21 (FIG. 4), which may include foldable flaps22, four upstanding rectangular side panels 23, and a top panel 25,which may be made up of foldable flaps 26.

The insulating housing 30 is of rigid construction, preferably beingformed of expanded polystyrene, although other thermally insulatingmaterials could be used. The insulating housing 30 is of open-topconstruction, including a rectangular bottom panel 31 (FIG. 4) and fourupstanding rectangular side panels 33, and is dimensioned to fit snuglywithin the outer carton 20, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

The insulating housing 40 is preferably made up of vacuum insulationpanels. More particularly, the insulating housing 40 is also of open-topconstruction, and includes a rectangular bottom panel 41 (FIG. 4) andfour upstanding, rectangular side panels 43. Each of the panels 41 and43 includes an outer barrier film 47 surrounding an insulating core 48and maintaining a vacuum within the core 48 in a known manner, as bestillustrated in FIG. 4. The vacuum insulation panels may be of any of anumber of different types of commercially available panels, such aspanels wherein the core 48 is formed of a relatively rigid material,such as open-cell polystyrene, and types wherein the core 48 is in thenature of a particulate silicon material. The barrier film 47 is formedof a suitable gas-impervious material, such as a suitable foil, andsustains the required vacuum within the panel for the desired life ofthe panel. The core 48 may include desiccants to protect the vacuum fromintrusion by water molecules.

The inner carton 50 is also preferably formed of a corrugated cardboardmaterial or the like, and is dimensioned to be snugly received withinthe insulating housing 40, as is best illustrated in FIG. 3. Morespecifically, the inner carton 50 includes a rectangular bottom panel 51(FIG. 4), which may include one or more foldable flaps, and fourrectangular upstanding side panels 53. The inner carton 50 isdimensioned to fit snugly within the insulating housing 40 (see FIG. 3)and defines therein a storage compartment 54. The inner carton 50 isalso provided with a top panel 55, which may include a plurality offoldable flaps 56.

The container 10 also includes a rectangular closure lid 60 for closingthe open tops of the insulating housings 30 and 40. More specifically,the closure lid 60 includes an outer rectangular expanded polystyrenepanel 61, having secured to one surface thereof a smaller rectangularexpanded polystyrene panel 62. A vacuum insulation panel 63, of the sametype as the panels of the insulating housing 40, is secured to the innersurface of the panel 62. The panels 61-63 are all centered with respectto one another and are of decreasing size, so that the panels 61 and 62cooperate to define a peripheral shoulder 64 having a depth equal to thethickness of each of the side panels 33 of the insulating housing 30.Similarly, the panels 62 and 63 cooperate to define a peripheralshoulder 65 having a width equal to the thickness of the side panels 43of the insulating housing 40.

Referring to FIG. 4, the side panels 33 of the insulating housing 30 areshorter than the side panels 23 of the outer carton 20 and longer thanthe side panels 43 of the insulating housing 40. Thus, the upper ends ofthe side panels 33 are spaced from the upper ends of the side panels 23by a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the closure lidpanel 61, and spaced above the upper ends of the side panels 43 by adistance substantially equal to the thickness of the closure lid panel62. Thus, the closure lid 60 can be fitted on top of the nested units,with the closure lid panel 63 fitting snugly within the open top of theinsulating housing 40, with the closure lid panel 62 fitting snuglywithin the open top of the insulating housing 30 and resting upon theupper ends of the side panels 43, and with the closure lid panel 61nesting snugly within the side walls 23 of the outer carton 20 andsupported upon the upper ends of the side panels 33.

In the illustrated embodiment, the outer carton 20 has four top panelflaps 56 and the inner carton 50 has two top panel flaps 56. However, itwill be appreciated that each of the top panels 25 and 55 could haveeither two flaps or four flaps and, likewise, each of the bottom panels21 and 51 could have either two flaps or four flaps.

In assembly, the outer carton 20 is formed with its top panel 25 open,and then the insulating housing 30 is nested in the carton 20, theinsulating housing 40 is nested in the housing 30, and the inner carton50 is nested in the housing 40, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. Thematerial to be shipped is then disposed in the storage compartment 54 ofthe inner carton 50 and its top wall 55 is closed. Then the closure lid60 is fitted in place and the top panel 25 of the outer carton 20 isclosed. Suitable taping, strapping or the like may be applied, asdesired, depending upon the application.

It can be seen that the fragile vacuum insulation panels of theinsulating housing 40 are fully protected, on the inside by the innercarton 50, on the outside by the rigid insulating housing 30, and at thetop edges by the closure lid 60. However, in the event that one or moreof the vacuum insulation panels of the insulating housing 40 shouldbecome damaged so as to destroy the vacuum thereof, only the insulatinghousing 40 need be replaced, without having to replace any of the otherunits of the container 10. There results a container which provideseffective thermal insulation while being relatively economical.

While a particular embodiment of the present invention has been shownand described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art thatchanges and modifications may be made without departing from theinvention in its broader aspects. Therefore, the aim in the appendedclaims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within thetrue spirit and scope of the invention. The matter set forth in theforegoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way ofillustration only and not as a limitation. The actual scope of theinvention is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewedin their proper perspective based on the prior art.

I claim:
 1. A thermally insulating container comprising: an outerclosable carton, a first substantially rigid insulating housingremovably disposed within said outer carton and formed of a firstthermally insulating material different from the material of the outercarton, a second substantially rigid insulating housing removablydisposed within said first housing and formed of a second thermallyinsulating material different from the first thermally insulatingmaterial and from the material of the outer carton, and an innerclosable carton removably disposed within said second housing.
 2. Thecontainer of claim 1, wherein each of said inner and outer cartons isformed of corrugated cardboard.
 3. The container of claim 1, whereinsaid first thermally insulating material is expanded polystyrene.
 4. Thecontainer of claim 1, wherein said second housing is formed of vacuuminsulation panels.
 5. The container of claim 1, wherein each of saidvacuum insulation panels includes a core and a barrier film surroundingthe core for preserving a vacuum therein.
 6. The container of claim 5,wherein said core includes a granular insulating material.
 7. Thecontainer of claim 1, wherein each of said inner and outer cartonsincludes a foldable top.
 8. The container of claim 1, and furthercomprising closure structure for closing the tops of said first andsecond housings.
 9. The container of claim 8, wherein said closurestructure is of integral construction.
 10. A thermally insulatingcontainer comprising: an outer closable carton, a first open-topinsulating housing removably disposed within said carton and formed of afirst thermally insulating material, a second open-top insulatinghousing removably disposed within said first housing and formed of asecond insulating material, an inner closable carton removably disposedwithin said second housing, and closure structure for closing the topsof said first and second housings, said closure structure including asupport panel dimensioned to overlie said first housing at the open topthereof for support thereon, a first closure panel secured to saidsupport panel and dimensioned to be received in the open top of saidfirst housing for housing for closing same, and a second closure panelsecured to said first closure panel and dimensioned to be received inthe open top of said second housing for closing same.
 11. The containerof claim 10, wherein said support panel and said first closure panel areformed of expanded polystyrene and said second closure panel is a vacuuminsulation panel.
 12. The container of claim 11, wherein said vacuuminsulation panels are rigid.
 13. The container of claim 11, wherein eachof said vacuum insulation panels includes a granular insulatingmaterial.
 14. The container of claim 10, wherein each of said inner andouter cartons is formed of corrugated cardboard.
 15. The container ofclaim 14, wherein each of said inner and outer cartons includes afoldable top.
 16. A thermally insulating container comprising: an outerclosable carton a first substantially rigid insulating housing removablydisposed within the outer carton and formed of expanded polystyrene, asecond insulating housing removably disposed within the first housingand formed of vacuum insulation panels, and an inner closable cartonremovably disposed within the second housing.
 17. The container of claim16, wherein each of the inner and outer cartons is formed of corrugatedcardboard.
 18. The container of claim 16, wherein the vacuum insulationpanels are rigid.
 19. The container of claim 16, wherein each of theinner and outer cartons includes a foldable top.
 20. The container ofclaim 16, and further comprising closure structure for closing the topsof the first and second housings.